China’s Rupert Murdoch eyes foreign sports

After spending a record amount on the broadcasting rights for China’s top football division, Li Ruigang is looking overseas, where he already owns a stake in Manchester City.

After paying a record-breaking Rmb8 billion $1.3 billion for the five-year broadcasting rights to Chinese Super League football and buying a chunk of oil-backed English soccer club Manchester City, Li Ruigang is eyeing more high-quality sports assets globally, the Chinese media mogul said on Wednesday at the Boao Forum in Hainan.

Sport, which accounted for just 0.64% of Chinese GDP in 2014, is on the cusp of something big, with football leading the way as...